“Light is Time” is a fantastic installation of 65,000 suspended watch base plates created by Paris-based architect Tsuyoshi Tane in collaboration with Japanese watch-maker CITIZEN. The sparkling installation allows viewers to enter and experience the magical unity of light, time and beauty.

“Light was born at the instant of the Big Bang, the universe’s beginning,” writes Tane, explaining the inspiration behind this artwork. “From beyond the horizon, the rising Sun slowly covers Earth in light, shadows transform into different shapes, the seasons transit colours in nature and the waxing and waning of the Moon changes. When humanity noticed these things, we unknowingly created the concept of time.”

The installation was originally created for this year’s Milan Design Week, where it was composed out of 80,000 base plates (the photos here are from Milan). A slightly smaller version is now exhibited at SPIRAL in Tokyo until November 28, 2014.